Have you voted yet?

It's unfortunate but true: Elections in odd-numbered yearswhen we elect our city leaderstend to have lower voter turnout than those in which we choose state, federal and county officials.

Municipal elections rarely break the 20 percent mark. (Pittsboro is an outlier because its population is small and just a few extra voters can skew the results.) However, the 2008 presidential contestsboth primary and general electionsreported record turnouts in North Carolina:

• In Durham, 51 percent of registered voters cast ballots in the primary, with 77 percent in the general.

• In Wake, the tallies were 40 percent and 75 percent respectively.

• In Orange, 44 percent and 71 percent voted in the primary and general elections.

• And in Chatham, 48 percent cast ballots in the primary and 78 percent in the general election.

Early voting for this election continues through Oct. 5. Election Day is Oct. 8. See the INDY's handy clip-out voting guide listing our endorsements.